It wasn’t until they were deep in the mountains that Qin Fang realized hiring Monkey as a guide had been an excellent decision.

The vast mountains were dense with trees, crisscrossed by all sorts of animal trails and small paths. Everywhere he looked was a sea of trees and white snow. After just an hour of walking, Qin Fang suspected he would have a hard time finding his way back to Fisherman City...

Fortunately, he had Monkey.

"Master Qin, over here."

Monkey pushed aside a patch of weeds, revealing a narrow, overgrown, winding path.

He sighed with a smile. "These mountain paths haven’t been used in a long time... If it weren’t for the recent demon trouble, probably even fewer people would walk them. Only folks from the nearby villages come this way once in a while to go to the market. The path is barely even formed."

"My home is in Tieshu Village, not far from here. We were poor back then, couldn’t even afford a sampan. I had to walk the mountain roads every day to get to the various cities..."

As Monkey reminisced about the past with a sigh, Qin Fang followed behind him, trudging forward one careful step at a time.

True Martial County had well-developed waterways, so traveling by boat was naturally much faster and more comfortable than walking.

Even so, not every household owned a boat... They were major purchases, very expensive.

Monkey came from a poor background. His family didn’t buy a boat until he was fifteen. Only then could he stop walking the mountain paths to the market every day and travel by water instead.

By boat, the trip from Fisherman City to Pingze City took only an hour. Walking, however, required crossing three mountains and would take at least eight hours.

But with Water Demons now plaguing the rivers, even Qin Fang was unwilling to risk it.

Taking a risk when you had no other choice was one thing.

But when you had a choice, safety naturally came first.

After all, if you didn’t run into a Demon, you’d only have saved a little time.

But what if you did?

Qin Fang had never seen a Demon.

But he didn’t think his current Cultivation was high enough to fight off a Water Demon on the river...

Along the way, Monkey chatted about his past, and Qin Fang listened patiently.

He gained a deeper understanding of the lives of ordinary people in this World...

Of course, the original owner of his body was a person from this World, so Qin Fang, with his complete memories, already had a general idea of how things were.

Several hours passed in a blur, and they had crossed the three great mountains.

However, both Qin Fang and Monkey still had plenty of stamina...

Qin Fang, needless to say, had his Mingjin Cultivation and had started practicing a Training Method, so his stamina was a given.

As for Monkey, although his Cultivation wasn’t at the Mingjin level—and he had probably never even formally trained in martial arts—he was used to running through the mountains. Since they hadn’t been pushing for speed on this trip, his stamina wasn’t too drained either.

When they reached the summit, Monkey pointed down below. "Master Qin, at the very bottom is Pingze City."

Qin Fang gazed into the distance... He could vaguely make out the Chujiang River at the foot of the mountains, where two peaks formed a bay, but everything else was hidden under a blanket of white snow.

Qin Fang let out a soft breath, then narrowed his eyes. "You said before that you know people from the Iron Tiger Gang?"

Hearing this, Monkey’s expression turned serious. "Yeah, I’ve met them a few times. We all make a living in the True Martial area, after all... But the Iron Tiger Gang members are really arrogant. Wang Hu is an Anjin Martial Artist, and the gang has several other Mingjin Martial Artists. They don’t think much of us smaller gangs..."

Qin Fang nodded at his words but said nothing more.

"Master Qin, are you really planning to go after Wang Hu?"

Monkey asked in a low voice, his eyes shining slightly.

He seemed very excited.

After all... Wang Hu was an Anjin Martial Artist!

A major figure in the entire True Martial County!

The thought that he could take part in a major operation like assassinating an Anjin Martial Artist thrilled him.

Qin Fang glanced at him and simply nodded.

He wasn’t hiding it from Monkey.

After all, Monkey was his guide. Later on, he would most likely need his help to find Wang Hu’s location, so there was no reason to keep him in the dark.

"Heh heh..."

Monkey chuckled, looking down below with anticipation, his thoughts unreadable.

After a short rest, the two continued on their way.

Just before nightfall, Pingze City finally came into view...

With just one look, Qin Fang knew why Wang Hu and his men had gathered here.

This market was much larger than Fisherman City—at least three or four times its size.

Rows upon rows of houses stood tall, the ground paved with flagstones, and the streets were teeming with people...

At this scale, it was almost equivalent to a small town.

Even more bustling, in fact!

’And this is with the Water Demons causing trouble. During normal times... it would probably be even more crowded. No wonder two gangs with Anjin Martial Artists are based here,’ Qin Fang thought to himself.

The two entered the city without attracting any attention. Monkey, who knew his way around, led Qin Fang to an inn to settle in.

’Fisherman City doesn’t even have any inns,’ he mused. ’The difference between cities of the same rank can be huge.’

They got a room facing the street. Once inside, Monkey asked Qin Fang in a low voice, "Master Qin, what’s the plan now?"

Qin Fang asked, "Can you find a way to learn where Wang Hu lives?"

Monkey thought for a moment before replying, "Shouldn’t be a problem. I know some people here in Pingze City... If it’s just finding his address, it shouldn’t be hard."

"Good," Qin Fang nodded. "Then first, find out his address and whether he’s even in Pingze City... We’ll figure out the rest after you’ve got that information."

The truth was, he didn’t have a complete plan.

"Alright. Master Qin, you wait here. I’ll be right back."

After speaking, Monkey left the room to find a way to get Wang Hu’s address.

Qin Fang went to the window, opened it, and watched the bustling street below, his eyes glinting.

’Wang Hu is my biggest threat right now. If I don’t get rid of him, he’ll come for me sooner or later. I just hope this trip goes smoothly...’ he thought.

Before he knew it, the sky had grown completely dark.

But Pingze City was still lively. Lanterns were lit along the streets, casting a dim yellow glow, and many pedestrians still walked the roads.

’A market town that actually has a nightlife,’ Qin Fang thought. ’Back in True Martial County, the streets are pretty much empty by nine or ten o’clock.’

Monkey finally returned.

Monkey said in a low voice after closing the door, "Master Qin, I got the information, but there’s a problem..."

"What is it?"

Monkey whispered, "I found out Wang Hu’s address, but he isn’t in Pingze City right now."

Qin Fang’s brow furrowed. "Where did he go?"

"I don’t know the specifics, only that Wang Hu left Pingze the day before yesterday... He left by boat with a lot of men from the Iron Tiger Gang."

Monkey paused, then added in a lower voice, "I also heard that Cao Zhen of the Four Seas Gang left at the same time... In Pingze, the relationship between their two gangs is a lot like the one between our Fish Dragon Gang and the Water Dragon Gang."

"A lot of people are guessing... they might have found a Treasure Fish."

Qin Fang was taken aback.

"A Treasure Fish... What’s that?"

"No idea."

Monkey shook his head. "It’s supposedly something that’s only appeared in Pingze recently."

"Something that’s only... appeared recently?"

Qin Fang looked completely puzzled.